Viral structure and entry
Nucleic acid synthesis
Infection and immunity
Vaccines and antivirals
Miscellaneous
100

What are the types of viral structures?

Helical, icosahedral, complex

100

What enzyme do retroviruses use to convert RNA to DNA?

Reverse transcriptase

100

Name one function of cytokines

Promote/control inflammation, signaling between cells, chemokines attract immune cells, growth of immune cells

100

What is the purpose of a vaccine adjuvant?

Induce a local inflammatory response for an effective adaptive immune response.

100

Where did SARS-CoV-2 originate?

Huanan Seafood Market, Wuhan, China

200

What is the average diameter of a coronavirus? (correct order of magnitude)

100 nanometers

200

Why do some viruses interact with Rb?

To induce progression of cell cycle into S phase, trigger DNA synthesis

200

Name two ways antibodies function? (100 for each)

Neutralization, activating complement, agglutination, opsonization, ADCC

(I only talked about/mentioned a couple of these)

200

What two viruses have been eradicated? (100 per corrected)

Smallpox virus, rinderpest virus

200

How do HIV-1 particles mature?

Protease cleavage of polyproteins (Gag and Gag-Pol)

300

What triggers endosomal fusion for influenza virus?

Acidification of the endosome

300

How many and which metal do virtually all polymerases use to catalyze nucleic acid synthesis?

2 magnesium ions

300

What is CRISPR in prokaryotic immunity?

If a prokaryote survives a phage infection, genetic sequences of phages are stored in DNA and used to target future infectious phage genomes.

300

What kind of drug is Casirivimab?

monoclonal anitbody (against COVID)

300

What is the difference between antigenic drift and shift?

Antigenic drift results from accumulated antibody escape mutations while antigenic shift results from reassortments.

400

Name the receptor(s) for these viruses (100 per correct):

Influenza, HIV, SARS-CoV-2, Poliovirus

Influenza: sialic acid

HIV: CD4 and CCR5

SARS-CoV-2: ACE2

Poliovirus: CD155

400

Describe how (-)ssRNA viruses switch from mRNA synthesis to genome replication?

mRNAs translated into N protein, which coats the RNA during transcription, causing antitermination

400

How does PKR function in the antiviral response?

Induced by interferons, activated by binding to dsRNA, phosphorylates eIF2α, inhibiting translation initiation

400

What kind of vaccines are these (100 per correct):

Shingrix, Comirnaty, FluMist, IPV

Shingrix: subunit

Comirnaty: mRNA

FluMist: live attenuated

IPV: inactivated

400

How do you calculate each of the following concepts (100 per correct):

R0, MOI, CFR, T number

R0 = tau (transmissibility) * c (contact duration) * d (duration of infectiousness)


MOI = infectious viral particles / cells


CFR = # deaths / # confirmed infections

T number = # of subunits in capsid / 60

500

Name the capsid structure of these viral families and whether or not they have an envelope (100 per correct):

Orthomyxoviridae, Picornaviridae, Coronaviridae, Flaviviridae, Adenoviridae

Orthomyxoviridae: helical, no envelope

Picornaviridae: icosahedral, no envelope

Coronaviridae: helical, envelope

Flaviviridae: icosahedral, envelope

Adenoviridae: icosahedral, no envelope

500

What do these viruses use as primers (if they use a primer) for genome replication (100 per correct):

Poliovirus, VSV, HIV, Parvovirus, SV40

Poliovirus: VPg-pUpU

VSV: de novo

HIV: tRNA, PPT, de novo (for mRNA transcription)

Parvovirus: ITRs

SV40: RNA primers (DNA replication)

500

In immunity, what do each of these bind? (receptor and cell type, 100 per correct):

Interferon, PAMPs, DNA in cytoplasm, MHC class II + viral peptide, MHC class I + viral peptide

Interferon: IFN receptor (e.g. IFNAR) in all cells

PAMPs: PRRs in all cells

DNA in cytoplasm: cGAS in all cells

MHC class II + viral peptide: T cell receptor + CD4 in helper T cells

MHC class I + viral peptide: T cell receptor + CD8 in CTLs

500

What are the mechanisms of actions for the following antiviral drugs (100 per correct):

Acyclovir, Amantadine, Molnupiravir, AZT, Oseltamivir

Acyclovir: nucleoside analog, chain terminator

Amantadine: entry inhibitor

Molnupiravir: nucleoside analog

AZT: nucleoside analog, chain terminator

Oseltamivir: neuraminidase inhibitor

500

What were the original/intermediate animal hosts for the following viruses (100 per correct):

Influenza virus, Nipah virus, Sin Nombre virus, West Nile virus, MERS-CoV

Influenza virus: waterfowl

Nipah virus: bat, pig

Sin Nombre virus: deer mouse

West Nile virus: Birds, mosquitos

MERS-CoV: bat, camel